


you got what i need (but you say I'm just a friend)

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, brief dokun, lots of 2000s hits, we love awkward high school phases!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 07:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17914730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Oh, hell no,” Johnny gasped before whipping his phone out to start recording.Kun had pried the mic from the DJ and was currently singing his own abridged version of Just A Friend by Mario.“Ten! You got what I need, but you say I’m just a friend! But you say I’m just a friend!” His hands were shaking and Ten could see sweat stains forming on his polo shirt. Jesus.(Alternatively: Kun meets Ten seven years after his embarrassing confession. Ten hasn't changed at all.)





	you got what i need (but you say I'm just a friend)

**Author's Note:**

> istg i gotta stop writing kunten
> 
> anyway enjoy lol

The first time Kun confessed to Ten was at their homecoming dance in their sophomore year of high school. Their school was suffocatingly small, the consequence of living in a small town with empty fields everywhere.

 

Now Ten wasn’t a great big hottie in high school or anything like that, but he was funnier than every kid at their school combined and listened to foreign music, not just the Top 20 hits cycle on the radio. He never really did his homework, crammed for all his tests, and only participated in gym class when it was absolutely, undeniably necessary.

 

Kun had been the opposite. He loved school, practically _breathed_ that shit, and every time he walked into sophomore English, he had a new story from the Academic Bowl that previous weekend. Everyone kind of loved him, but in a different way than they loved Ten. Ten would probably be a free spirit roaming a big city while Kun would work in the government or play the cello for the rest of his life, because _why not_.

 

They never interacted, not even once, so when a freshman on the Academic Bowl team let it slip that Kun had a really embarrassing crush on him, Ten said the following:

 

“Damn, he has feelings?”

 

And Jaehyun had laughed shortly before scurrying back to his lunch table. Quick pro tip: never tell freshmen anything. The next day, the whole school knew what Ten thought of Kun.

 

“You’re mean, Ten. Kun has liked you since, forever,” Taeyong said when the two were pretending to stretch in gym class.

 

Ten shrugged. “I don’t even really know him. You can’t force me to like him.”

 

Taeyong flicked his forehead. “There’s twelve hundred kids at this school, you fuckhead. You know him well enough. Besides, I’m not saying you should go out with him. Just don’t be a dick.”

 

Ten had tried really, really hard not to do that, tried hard not to make snarky comments about his prized lint roller or sweater vests, but then Kun had totally fucked himself over.

 

“Oh, _hell no,”_ Johnny gasped before whipping his phone out to start recording.

 

Kun had pried the mic from the DJ and was currently singing his own abridged version of _Just A Friend_ by Mario.

 

“Ten! You got what I need, but you say I’m just a friend! But you say I’m just a friend!” His hands were shaking and Ten could see sweat stains forming on his polo shirt. Jesus.

 

Ten wanted to pound his own face in with all seven rings on his fingers. Anything to make this madness stop. He ran out, canvas flip flops slapping on the linoleum of the gym, until he reached the cafeteria and even then his face was still burning.

 

A few minutes passed before a timid voice asked, “Ten?”

 

Ten looked up and Kun had the face of a little kid that had been crying for an hour. “What?”

 

“I really like you…. I get if you don’t like me, just, I don’t know, tell me.” There was still hope in his voice and Ten’s stomach had twisted.

 

“Okay. I don’t like you. Not like that.”

 

“Oh. Cool.” And then he left and because no one else was in the hallways, Ten could hear his sobs ricochet off the walls.

 

At the end of the year, Ten had simply wrote “HAGS -ten” in Kun’s yearbook, and Kun just signed his name in his. Kun moved away that summer because his mom’s job moved to the city and they were never close enough to keep in touch.

 

So Ten figured he’d never see him again, never ever, but when it came to Kun, the unlikely seemed very likely.

 

 

 

  
  
  


Ten loved his job. Working at the Apple Store was cool as shit in every single aspect, and the fact that he got to control the playlist at the store was even better. What _wasn’t_ cool as shit, was that his best friend felt the need to loiter every time he was on shift.

 

“Doyoung, you have to leave. Your phone isn’t even broken,” Ten pleaded.

 

Doyoung pouted and started poking at his phone screen. “I think my ringer is broken though?”

 

Ten pulled his own phone out (an iPhone of course!) and called Doyoung. The default ringtone rang out.

 

“I just wanna check on you. Can’t I do that as your best friend?”

 

“Nope,” Ten said. “I’m revoking your best friend privileges. It’s obvious you need something.”

 

Doyoung scrunched his face up and tried to look offended but failed. “Fine. You know my boyfriend, right?”

 

Ten rolled his eyes and started cleaning the screen of an iPad. This again. “The boyfriend you never shut up about but won’t let me meet?”

 

“Yeah, him. Anyway I told him you do commissions and he wants you to draw him.”

 

Ten let out a laugh. “You’re dating a narcissist, Doyoung.”

 

“I’m dating a total _babe_ , so it makes sense that he’s wants a portrait of himself. Hope he gives it to me.”

 

“You’re messed up, dude.”

 

“Can you do it?” Doyoung made his pitiful face, so Ten couldn’t really say no.

 

He quickly ran through his mental list of commissions and figured he could get it done in two weeks. “Yeah, I’ll do it. Just send whatever pic he wants me to use as reference.”

 

Doyoung gave him a lazy side hug. “You know I love you, right?”

 

“I know. It’s impossible not to love me.”

 

 

 

  
  


Doyoung had described Ten’s decision to choose a college student as his roommate as “severely short sighted” and “literally the dumbest fucking thing” but Lucas was calm and never stayed out late. If he did, he called Ten three hours in advance so he wouldn’t freak when he clomped in at three in the morning.

 

Right now, Lucas was destroying a chicken bowl from Chipotle, more inhaling than chewing. Ten sat across from him and watched in stupefied horror as he cleaned the entire container in four minutes.

 

“Ugh. I’m still hungry.”

 

Ten pushed the chips and queso over to him. “Go nuts.” Lucas squealed and took to inhaling the entire bag.

 

Once Ten had finished eating, and Lucas had finished eating the second time, they fell into easy conversation about their day, too lazy to clean the counter.

 

“What were you like in high school?” Ten asked. He guessed that Lucas was popular and likable, with enough friends to constantly have weekend plans. When Ten voiced this, Lucas laughed before admitting,

 

“I was on the Academic Bowl team at my school and I did swimming. I didn’t have a lot of time to hang out.”

 

At the mention of Academic Bowl, Ten was reminded of Kun and his lint roller. Bleh. He’d rather forget his sophomore year of high school.

 

“What were you like?”

 

Ten didn’t even hesitate. “I was an asshole, I’ll be honest. Dunno why people wanted to be friends with me.”

 

“Oh so _you_ were Mr. Popular. Ten Bolton.”

 

Ten kicked him. Lucas wasn’t very clever. “It wasn’t like that. I was just edgy as shit and thought I was hot stuff. Not my fault if everyone else bought into it.”

 

“Doyoung didn’t go to your high school?”

 

“Nah, we met in college.” Ten busted his ass trying to avoid anyone from his high school in college and as a result, Doyoung had become his best friend. He was a better friend than his high school ones, if only because he called him out on his bullshit _ruthlessly._ Even more than Taeyong had.

 

“I can’t make any friends here and it’s my second year. It’s frustrating,” Lucas said. Ten patted his head gently.

 

“You’ll make some friends, don’t stress. Just hang out with the econ or poli-sci majors. They never shut the fuck up. They’ll do enough talking for the both of you.”

 

“Ten, _I’m_ a poli-sci major.”

 

“Oh. Well maybe you’re talking too much.”

 

Lucas stood up. “Good night, Ten. You’re _still_ an asshole, by the way.”

 

Ten blew a kiss. “Night, Cas.”

 

Thursday nights were for Netflix and since it felt like a _Truman Show_ kind of day, Ten was settled into his bed, prepared to watch Jim Carrey act like a complete idiot, when his phone buzzed.

 

**[9:48 P.M.] Doyoung**

[1 IMAGE ATTACHED]

^^that’s the pic he wants you to use for reference

isn’t he adorable

 

Ten opened the attachment and even though it had been seven years since he’d seen him, and he was no longer wearing a steamed sweater vest, Ten _knew_.

 

**[9:55 P.M.] Ten**

um

what’s his name???

 

**[9:56 P.M.] Doyoung**

kun!!

he plays in the symphony orchestra downtown

agghhhhh

I really want you to meet him

 

Well, _fuck_.

 

 

 

  


Ten had never been too good at dealing with confrontation and waiting at a pizza place with Doyoung for Kun was shredding his stomach seven different ways.

 

“Doyoung,” He attempted to plead again. “I really just don’t want to be here.”

 

Doyoung sipped his Sprite, unbothered. “I really want you two to get along well. You don’t have to stay the whole time, just don’t leave now. Please.”

 

Ten nodded in an effort to assuage his guilt. What’s the worst that could happen? Kun would dump Parmesan cheese down his shirt? Throw Dr. Pepper in his face?

 

“Oh, there he is,” Doyoung gushed. He got out of his seat and offered his cheek for Kun to kiss. “Hey, baby! How was practice?”

 

“Like usual,” Kun noticed Ten who was doing a pretty piss poor job of hiding himself behind his menu. “Are you gonna introduce us?”

 

“Ten, this is Kun, and Kun, this is,” He pried the menu away, “Ten.”

 

Something flickered in Kun’s eyes but he was smiling again within seconds. “It’s nice to meet you. Doyoung talks about you all the time.”

 

Ten laughed nervously. “Hopefully good things?”

 

Kun smiled tightly. “Of course.”

 

The meal passed in awkward silence and it wasn’t actually Ten who left first, but Kun.

 

“So,” Doyoung started. “What do you think? Does he pass?”

 

Doyoung looked so hopeful and content that Ten couldn’t possibly ruin that for him. “Yep. I think he’s good for you.”

 

“Hmm, me too. Wish he’d talk about his past more,” Doyoung lamented.

 

Ten furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

 

“He like, never talks about high school. I’ll ask about it, because high school was hell for everyone, you know? But he hates when I even say the words.” Doyoung stirred the leftover ice cubes in his glass. “I don’t know. Makes me worried.”

 

Ten’s stomach was doing some weird type of squirming action now. The pizza he just ingested was trying to breakdance through his stomach lining. This lunch was a horrible idea.

 

“Maybe he just really hated high school?” Ten offered as his stomach bubbled.

 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Anyway, how’s the roommate?”

 

Ten was grateful for the conversation change. But as he recounted the story of Lucas locking himself out for four hours while Ten was at work, the memory of pubescent Kun belting his heart out wouldn’t leave his mind.

 

*

 

Kun was known to never half-ass anything. The day Qian Kun didn’t put his all into something was the day he’d be on his deathbed. So, when fifteen year old Kun thought of ways to confess to Ten, singing in front of practically their entire school had been the only option really.

 

Sicheng had been against it from the beginning. “You’re gonna embarrass yourself. Besides, you already know Ten doesn’t like you,” He had said while they were getting ready for a competition.

 

Kun shrugged. “He didn’t say that. He just asked if I had feelings.”

 

“Have you met Ten? That was a dig at you.”

 

Kun shrugged again.

 

Sicheng sighed and fixed his friend’s collar. “Just, don’t get your hopes up, okay? You could literally date anyone at our school. Half of our grade is in love with you.”

 

“I don’t want to date just anyone though. I want to date Ten. I’ve only ever wanted to date Ten,” Kun said.

 

“Alright. If it goes bad, just remember I left the spare key under the rug. You don’t even have to call.”

  
  


 

 

Ten looked really nice at homecoming. Not in a dressed up way, but in a “I’m way too cool to be here and I’d rather be at home watching the Amazing Race” kind of way. People were surrounding him as he made comments on the decorations and Kun’s heart squeezed. Ten was so magnetic.

 

Convincing the DJ to go through with plan was more effort than it was worth considering the outcome. He ended up at Sicheng’s before nine.

 

He let out another sob as Sicheng rubbed his back.

 

“Why do you even like Ten?” Sicheng asked.

 

Kun didn’t hesitate to recite his enumerated list. “One: he doesn’t get mad when I critique his writing in English. Two: he taught me how to watch movies illegally in middle school. Three: when the music stopped playing during his dance at the talent show last year he kept going. And I like him mostly because he just doesn’t care.” Kun hated how much he still really liked him, even when he’d all but cried in front of him.

 

“Are you serious right now? You like him because he gave you a link to 123movies?”

 

Kun glared at him. “He’s _cute_ , Sicheng.”

 

“He’s _Ten_ , Kun. I’ve never even seen him drink water. His breath probably smells like corpses.” Sicheng placed a hand on Kun’s shoulder. “You deserve better than corpse breath.”

 

“Maybe. Can we make cookies now? Crying makes me hungry.”

 

And the two never discussed Ten again. Aside from everyone having seen the video of Kun singing, no one else talked about it either. Kun and Ten never talked after it, and they’d never really have time to because Kun moved in June.

 

“Now’s your opportunity to officially forget about Ten and this rural hellhole. Congrats,” Sicheng said, his own version of a farewell.

 

Kun _did_ forget about all that. He threw himself into cross country, Academic Bowl, Student Council, and orchestra without even flinching. He found that a bigger school was way more comforting. Now if he did anything outrageously stupid, it’d take one to two business days to spread instead of thirty minutes.

 

The only person Kun kept in touch with was Sicheng and he liked it that way. He didn’t want to see anyone else from that school. Absolutely no one.

  
  


 

 

 

“Ten really liked you,” Doyoung said as he swung the hand clutching Kun’s between them.

 

It was a nice day, the first one in a long time, and Doyoung had wanted to go to the zoo. There was a bunny ear headband on his head and a puppy one on Kun. They looked like overgrown toddlers but they didn’t really care.

 

“Oh, did he?” To say Kun was shocked that Doyoung’s best friend ended up being Ten was an understatement. He was absolutely floored. He had a lot of questions about him, about how they even met, but he filed them back. Ten was a very distant memory. The kind that popped into people’s heads randomly and then desperately tried to repress. That kind.

 

“Yeah. He thinks we look good together,” Doyoung smiled brightly at that. Ten’s opinion must’ve meant a lot to him.

 

“You do all the heavy lifting in the looks department,” Kun teased.

 

Doyoung laughed. “Oh really? Then why do you want a portrait of yourself, huh?”

 

“Because- Wait, is your best friend Ten the same Ten who’s doing my commission?”

 

Doyoung chuckled, confused. “Yes? You already knew that though.”

 

“Uh, I wanna cancel it.” Ten would probably make him look like an ogre. He wouldn’t want to pay money for that.

 

“You want to _what?”_

 

“I said, I wanna canc-“

 

“No, yeah I heard you,” Doyoung stopped. “But why? Ten is literally so talented and I don’t doubt he’s already started. You can’t cancel. I won’t let you.”

 

“I just don’t want it anymore, okay?”

 

Doyoung narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I’ll text him. But if he’s already started, you _will_ pay for it. I’ll pry the money out of your hands myself if I have to.”

 

Kun nodded in agreement. “That’s totally valid. But I honestly doubt he’s started.”

 

 

 

 

 

  


The drug store was mostly empty later that evening as Kun searched the aisles for Ibuprofen. His head was killing him and his arms were sore from practicing all day. He felt painfully numb. His subconscious blamed it on Ten.

 

“Advil, Aleve, Tylenol… Ugh I just want regular Ibuprofen, what the _fuck_ … Aha!” His hand grazed a bottle of Ibuprofen before another hand snatchd it up. “Hey!”

 

Ten smiled sheepishly and shook the bottle. “Last bottle.”

 

Kun breathed in slowly. He wouldn’t yell at Ten. He absolutely would not. “Can I have it?”

 

“No can do. My roommate has midterms this week and my life is on the line when he gets headaches,” Ten said.

 

“I have a performance tomorrow. I _actually_ need them. Get some Advil or something.”

 

“He doesn’t like Advil.”

 

“Well I don’t either!”

 

Ten crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “I’m halfway done with your commission. There is nothing stopping me from making you look like an ogre.”

 

Aha! Kun _knew_ he would try something like that. “I told Doyoung to cancel it.”

 

“And I told Doyoung that I was almost finished with it. I finish what I start, and what I’ve finished is what I’m paid for. Sorry, Kun.”

 

Kun doesn’t quite remember what possessed him to ask it, which repressed memory got loose, but he said, “Do you really not remember me?”

 

Ten stared for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Who the hell would forget you? I still can’t listen to that song without cringing.”

 

Kun pouted. “I thought it was a nice gesture.”

 

“It was embarrassing. Like really embarrassing. Did you not have friends that told you it would be embarrassing?”

 

Kun’s mind went to Sicheng. “Maybe they should’ve been more emphatic.”

 

Ten leaned against a shelf full of laxatives. “Doyoung thinks you went through something super traumatic in high school because you won’t talk about it.”

 

Kun scoffed. “You’re telling me that experience _doesn’t_ count as trauma? Are you forgetting the video?”

 

Ten covered his face with his hands. “Oh god, the video. You know, that’s what caused the food fight on the last day of school.”

 

Kun gasped. That food fight had bled into two different lunch periods and everyone involved had to stay after school to clean it up. “No way. How?”

 

“Some dumbass freshman started playing that video in front of me and I threw a brownie at him. It kind of spiraled from there.”

 

Of course Ten would start a food fight. Of course. “You used to be so impulsive. Hopefully you’re not still like that.”

 

Ten made a face. “Well… last week when my manager was yelling at me for playing vulgar songs on the speakers, Fergalicious started playing.”

 

Before Kun could stop himself, “And I know I’m coming off just a little bit conceited-”

 

“-And I keep on repeating how the boys wanna eat it!” Ten laughed. “Damn, that song is a classic.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Ten looked at the bottle in his hand and offered it to Kun. “Here. Doyoung would beat my ass if your head split open in the middle of playing Mozart or some shit.”

 

Kun took it, grateful. “Thanks.” He pushed his phone towards him. “Put your number in. For my commission.”

 

On the ride home, Kun thought about the fact that high school him would’ve pissed his pants if he had Ten’s number. Now, he wasn’t excited at all. Totally not.

 

**[8:23 P.M.] Ten**

high school you is pissing himself right now isn’t he

 

*

 

“Please explain why I’m being dragged to dinner with _your_ best friend and his boyfriend,” Lucas complained as they made their way into the restaurant.

 

“Because Doyoung got a promotion and I don’t want to thirdwheel,” Ten explained. He spotted Ten and Kun in a booth. “There they are. Come on.”

 

Lucas made a big show of dragging his heels into the carpet, but both made it to the table in one piece.

 

“Hey Ten,” Kun greeted cheerfully. He had brought back the sweater vest and distantly, Ten wondered if he had run a lint roller over it.

 

“Kun, this is Lucas, my roommate. Lucas, this is Kun,” Ten introduced.

 

“Nice to meet you.”

 

“Lucas, why are you here?” Doyoung asked. If anyone else had said it, it would sound mean but Doyoung was genuinely confused.

 

Lucas gave Doyoung a look. “That’s what I’m saying! I’m sure as hell not paying for my meal considering I was dragged here.”

 

Ten punched him. “I pay over half the rent. Count your blessings right now.” That seemed to shut Lucas up because he immediately took to examining the menu closely.

 

After ordering, both sides of the table fell into two separate conversations and in the middle of Lucas complaining about his lecture that day, he tuned into Kun’s conversation.

 

“Are you sure you don’t wanna go jogging with me on the weekends? I think you’ll like it,” Kun said to Doyoung. Doyoung did not look sold at all.

 

“You run?” Ten interrupted. The most athletic thing he remembered Kun doing was running back into the school during a fire drill because he had thought it was the real thing and his cello was still inside.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I don’t remember you being athletic,” Ten noted.

 

“Why would you?” Lucas pointed out, head tilted. Doyoung was looking at Ten curiously as well.

 

Ten turned to Kun. “You didn’t tell him?”

 

Kun took a swig of water and looked around. “Wow. This is a nice restaurant.”

 

“Hey, over here, sweater vest,” Doyoung said. “Explain please.”

 

“I _really_ don’t want to,” Kun begged. Sweat stains were forming on his sweater vest. Ten thought it sucked how repetitive his life was.

 

“He had a big crush on me in high school,” Ten explained concisely. “That’s all I’ll say. Don’t push it please.”

 

Lucas and Doyoung shared a look and Doyoung looked down at his nails. “Alright.”

 

Ten knew that Doyoung would have more to say later and he didn’t really want to hear any of it.

 

Dinner was understandably awkward after that, even when they each made a toast to Doyoung.

 

He looked down at his phone and frowned. “I have to submit a report tonight. I think I’ll head out.”

 

“You’re leaving?” Kun asked.

 

Doyoung nodded. “Yep. It’s getting pretty late. Make sure Lucas and Ten get home safe, okay?” He kissed his boyfriend’s cheek and left.

 

*

 

Kun offered to drive them home since they’d taken an Uber and he even let Ten choose the music! (“No Mario, please.” “Can I play French music?” “I don’t care. Go crazy.”)

 

Lucas just watched from the backseat at the odd spectacle of friendship taking place before his eyes. They were currently laughing about old SNL skits and how they related to discourse in pop culture and Lucas was _so_ confused.

 

“See ya, Kun! Thanks for the ride!” Ten waved and Kun smiled before driving off.

 

Lucas spent the ride in the elevator to look at Ten. Like _really_ look at him. He was reminded of a conversation he’d had with Doyoung a month after he moved in.

 

“Everyone falls in love with Ten,” Doyoung had said. “Which is a big mistake because he can never tell. So a bunch of people just fall in love with him by themselves and he never knows.”

 

“Damn,” Had been Lucas’s one-word response.

 

“Yeah, don’t do that. My friend Yuta had a crush on him like, a year ago, and now he’s full on pining.” He shuddered. “Yeesh.”

 

When Lucas had met Yuta, he had indeed been totally enamored with Ten. Lucas compared his face with the emotions on Kun’s in the car. They were uncomfortably similar.

 

“Ten,” Lucas said as they took their shoes off. “You don’t think Kun still likes you, right?”

 

Ten laughed. “That was seven years ago, Cas. He’d be dumb to still like me.”

 

“Yuta has liked you for two years,” Lucas pointed out. This seemed to be news to Ten because he gasped dramatically.

 

“Wait, are you serious?”

 

Doyoung was right. Ten _was_ oblivious.

 

“I think you should give Kun some space,” Lucas advised. “Just in case he does.”

 

Ten didn’t say anything, just nodded numbly, and went to to his room.

 

*

 

Doyoung kind of figured that Kun would eventually fall for Ten’s charms. He was _Ten_ ; everyone that met him loved him. So yeah, maybe Doyoung was tired of all the people he liked throwing themselves at Ten after two weeks of dating Doyoung, and yeah, maybe he’d lied about having a report due so he could go home and drink by himself. But he deserved it. He deserved some silence.

 

He woke up the next morning, throat kind of dry and saw two texts from Kun.

 

**[7:12 A.M.] Kun**

picking up some breakfast, do you want any?

never mind I’ll swing by and drop it off

 

There was a knock on the door, and sure enough, on the other side was Kun.

 

“Hey. Did you stay up late last night?” There was sincerity in his eyes , but not the same look he had given Ten all throughout dinner. That was adoration.

 

“Kun?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“I wanna break up with you.”

 

Kun stepped back from the doorway. “Where is this coming from?”

 

Doyoung rolled his eyes. “Do you want to kiss Ten, yes or no?”

 

There was a second of hesitation before he answered, “Of course not.”

 

Doyoung took the bag from his hands. “Yeah, okay. I’m taking the breakfast, but we’re broken up. Go shoot your shot with Ten.”

 

Kun paused like he had something to say. “Do you mean that?”

 

Doyoung rummaged around in the bag. Ooh, a croissant. “Yeah. He hasn’t said anything asshole-ish to you so I figure he likes you.” Dang. No butter. “Hey, did you grab any-”

 

He looked into the empty hallway.

 

“-butter?”

 

*

 

Ten may not have been a great big hottie in high school, but he _had_ been a good dancer. He stopped doing it competitively though, and just did it as a leisure activity. Right now, he was stretching to _Poker_ _Face_ and waiting for Kun so he could pick up his commission. He hadn’t seen him a week and all of his texts had been sparse. Ten gave him space, just like Lucas had said, even though he couldn’t figure out why.

 

“Wow, you’re really bendy,” Kun remarked from the door. Ten looked up at him in the mirror. He was wearing regular civilian clothes now and not a mismatched teen nightmare. Ten considered it a level up. (Subconsciously, Ten thought he looked cute. His subconscious was a dumbass.)

 

“Thanks. I can even do the splits.” He handed a cardboard tube to Kun. “The print’s inside.”

 

Kun nodded and handled it as if it was a newborn. “Thanks. I transferred the money to your account.”

 

“Cool.”

 

There was silence then, save for Lady Gaga’s vocals in the background.

 

“Can you do a cartwheel?” Kun asked.

 

Ten shrugged and launched into a quick cartwheel. He threw his hands up. “Ta-da.”

 

Kun looked amazed. “I think I like you, Ten.”

 

Ten stumbled backwards. Geez, Lucas had been right. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but you’re dating my best friend.”

 

“He broke up with me like last week. He’s the one who told me I liked you.”

 

Ten just sat in front of the mirror, staring at his own bewildered expression. “Huh.”

 

Kun sat next to me. “You can reject me. I promise I won’t cry this time.”

 

Before Ten could even filter the words, he blurted, “I’m not going to reject you.”

 

Kun’s eyebrows flew. “For real?”

 

Ten nodded. “I’ll even let you kiss me.”

 

“Are you fucking with me right now?”

 

“ _And_ take me on a date.”

 

“Oh my god.”

 

“And if the date goes well, you can even be my boyfriend.”

 

Kun looked like he was tearing up. “I’m gonna scream.”

 

Ten leaned over and kissed his cheek. Kun screamed.

 

*

 

(“Look Sicheng, this is the portrait that Ten drew of me,” Kun turned his phone around to show Sicheng. “Isn’t it pretty?”

 

Sicheng nodded from some hotel room all the way in Paris. “I still can’t believe you’re dating Ten.”

 

“Do you wanna say hi?”

 

“Hi Sicheng,” Ten greeted and took the phone from Kun. “You look as regal as always.”

 

“Does your breath still smell like corpses?”

 

“Go to hell, you fucking centipede. Your legs are like moving skyscrapers.”

 

Kun snatched his phone from his boyfriend’s grasp and ended the call. “Yeah, that’s enough of that.”)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: I actually won't be posting anymore fics. I plan to be really busy in the upcoming months and it doesn't look like it'll slow down after that!! thank you reading this and any other of my works and please, please keep supporting nct and wayv!!


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